Observer News: Celebrate the 4th with a Bullet Free Sky
Celebrate the 4th with a Bullet Free Sky
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Mitch_Traphagen on 28/06/2012 11:37:00
By MITCH TRAPHAGEN
RUSKIN — “Some people have said he was in the wrong place at the wrong
time,” Sandy Duran said, referring to her son who was struck by a falling
bullet from “celebratory” gunfire on New Year’s Eve. “He was in the
front yard of our home. How could that be the wrong place?”
Duran was attracted to the quiet Ruskin home because it was a beautiful and safe
place for her children. It still is — Diego was not in the wrong place, he was
at home in the best possible place of all. The shooter, however, was very much
in the wrong. He or she was in the wrong place and doing the wrong thing to
celebrate the New Year. Bullets fired into the sky do not magically disappear.
They come tearing back down to earth with lethal force.
Many families celebrate the 4th of July with picnics and barbecues and watching
fireworks. Some people choose to shoot their own fireworks, which, within
guidelines, are legal in Florida. Other people, however, will choose to fire off
weapons. In Hillsborough County, as in most places, that is decidedly not legal.
The time has come for the practice to stop because innocent people are being
injured and killed. There is nothing celebratory about that.
It would be difficult to imagine a kinder or gentler family than the Durans.
Artistic and hardworking, they moved from Puerto Rico to build a quiet life for
their children. The 10-acre property on which they live is the embodiment of
peace and tranquility, and they chose to spend holidays there together rather
than run the risks of being out. They had every right to their expectation of
peace and safety — just as anyone should have that expectation at their own
home. In the first few minutes of 2012, however, a bullet, fired from a gun up
to a mile or three away, fell from the sky and shattered that expectation; it
violated their right to have that expectation. The bullet could have fallen
anywhere: through a screened lanai in Sun City Center or through the roof of a
house to strike a sleeping family. As long as people fire guns into the sky, no
one is safe — not in your yard, not in your home.
To prevent anyone else from suffering that needless tragedy, Sandy and Diego
Duran, along with Diego’s godmother, Kat Chiu, have created the Bullet Free
Sky awareness campaign. They are currently seeking donors to raise the funds
necessary to file as a non-profit organization with the Internal Revenue
Service. At press time, approximately $340 was still needed. In addition, they
have begun selling wristbands emblazoned with the words, “Bullet Free Sky”
and Diego’s signature, signed while he was still in the hospital, along with
Bullet Free Sky t-shirts.
The campaign has garnered nationwide and international attention. A wristband
sent to a woman in Minnesota earned a pledge from the members of her family who
are hunters to never fire recklessly into the sky and to help promote the
campaign to other hunters. That is but a single example of dozens. Almost
certainly, Diego’s tragedy has already saved lives and prevented injuries.
Diego’s recovery has been remarkable. He returned to school, on a limited
basis, at Beth Shield’s Middle School in Ruskin before the year ended for the
summer. He has endured multiple surgeries and the road ahead is still long, but
he is taking each step without complaint, without tears. Along with his family,
he is moving forward, getting better and now trying to save lives.
With the nation’s 236th birthday approaching this July 4th, you can help this
young man, who only recently turned 13 years old. First and foremost, you can
help by not firing weapons into the sky. In doing so, you could end up shooting
someone just as though you pointed the weapon directly at his or her head.
Again, a bullet fired into the sky can travel for up to three miles from where
it was shot, and there is no way of knowing where it will land.
You can also help Diego by supporting the Bullet Free Sky campaign. Although
they are still raising funds to become an official non-profit organization, it
is already functioning as such. Information about how to donate to the campaign
can be found at www.bulletfreesky.com. In addition to donations, Bullet Free Sky
wristbands, t-shirts, stickers and bumper stickers are also available at very
reasonable prices. Finally, you can help by being aware. On this 4th of July, if
you hear weapons being fired in “celebration,” call the Hillsborough County
Sheriff’s Office to report it. Another needless tragedy is no way to celebrate
this nation’s independence.
Every year people are injured or killed because of celebratory gunfire;
tragedies that are entirely unnecessary. This 4th of July, join a brave, gentle,
and artistic 13-year-old boy — a young man most definitely in the right place
at the right time — in working to end the tradition of “celebratory”
gunfire. Together you will make a difference.